Sooooo yoga. There are plenty of health benefits of yoga that you may not have yet realized. In this video, I will show you exactly why yoga is good for you.

Whether it’s Pins on Pinterest, Youtube videos, or those dank beach yoga photos on Instagram, yoga is quickly becoming one of the hottest trend in health and fitness. If you live in a big city it probably feels like there’s a yoga studio on every street corner.

Even though many of those pants never make it into the inside of a yoga studio, I’m going to show you some reasons why they should and why yoga is so beneficial to the body.

This week on The Health Nerd, you’re going to learn how just a few minutes of yoga every week, will make you more mentality alert, happier, and healthier.

First, let’s talk about the science.

There are a shocking amount of studies that show the health benefits of yoga for men, for women, and everyone in between. If you think it’s something only for the naturally flexible or for hippies, think again.

Here are some of the best benefits of starting a regular yoga practice.

#1. Researchers from the University of Washington found that a regular yoga practice helps one

Fight sugar cravings. Improve breathing. And help with emotional awareness. They found that yoga gave people a sense of “mindful eating” in which they were consciously aware of the impact the food they ate made on their body. This gave the practioners better control over their eating habits and eating decision.

#2. Oxyford University found that people who practice yoga only once a week

Slept better. Had lower blood pressure. And were overall less stressed than their non-yoga counterparts. This lowering of cortisol and stress levels led people to be in a more relaxed and happy state of mind. It also helped them manage stressful situations better and not totally freak out.

#3. There’s even significant evidence behind how yoga can help people lose weight.

Including its ability to balance hormonal levels. Manage cravings (as mentioned before). And burn the equivalent calories of any standard workout routine. It seems that the popular term “yoga body” actually has some evidence behind it. Finally, yoga has proven to help the body become more flexible, relieve migraines, improve posture, de-compress lower back pain, boost immunity and can help you have better sex.

Phew***

That’s a lot of health benefits of yoga!

So at this point you may be thinking… What’s the best way to get started? Try a 20-minute yoga workout after this video and see how you feel. I’ll link some of the best places to start for beginners in the description below.

If your feeling those yoga vibes and enjoyed it, then you should either:

#1. Join a studio

#2. Find an online book or program to walk you though it.

Yeah, there’s a lot of free info online, but most of it is too jumbled and varies too greatly to get long term benefits from. Also research shows that the act of paying for something makes it wayyyyyy more likely you’ll actually complete it. The investment of money seems to make people stick with workout programs for longer and with more consistency.